


Inheritance

by crabapple



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Dark Magic, Gen, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-14
Updated: 2016-06-30
Packaged: 2018-02-08 21:45:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1957206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crabapple/pseuds/crabapple
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU When Riku was a boy, he met a man from the outside world, and the words that were spoken over him altered his destiny forever. The time has come for Riku to fulfill his destiny and follow in that man's footsteps. Footsteps that are wrought with darkness and loss.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Those Who Walk in Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> This story has been knocking around in my head for years now, and I really wanted to write a fic that deals with Riku and Terra’s potential mentor/student relationship. This is a side project for me so updates will be very sporadic.  
> This fic begins with the first game and branches out from there. It’s heavily AU, as Riku will be much more of a mage than in canon, and the entire plot of the first game will be completely altered. The “Ansem” of this story is not as he should be, and from the summary and tags you probably can guess who he really is. All alterations will be explained in time.  
> Thank you to my betas over on fanfiction, Ahxis and VCAyuki.

Riku was standing alone in the small cave commonly known as the Secret Place by the children of his island chain. Its walls were covered in white scribbles, and the smell of salt and mold filled the air. In front of him was a wooden door that no one could ever figure out. It had no handle, and no matter how much someone pushed it, it would never budge.

Dreams of this door opening had filled his nights lately, but they were not the pleasant ones of adventure and joy from his childhood. They were filled with a bone deep terror that drove him awake, sweating and gasping and _crying_ like some stupid little kid. Determined to purge himself of those ridiculous dreams, he made a point of visiting the door every day. His heart would race and his skin would crawl each time he approached it but nothing ever happened.

Scowling at the offending slab of wood, Riku began his slow trek forward. His heart rate quickened, and he had to measure his breathing. The door glowed for a moment before a golden keyhole appeared in the center of it, and he almost toppled over in surprise. He scrambled the rest of the way to the door and hovered in front of it.

The light of the keyhole was warm and pleasant. Riku reached towards it with a shaking hand, and a cold metallic weight filled his grasp. An oversized silver key had appeared out of nowhere, and it fit in his hand as if it had been made to do so. He glanced between it and the door before a smirk pulled at his lips.

The fear that had been churning his stomach faded away in the face of a comforting familiarity. A voice he could barely hear was whispering in his ear, and Riku felt that it spoke promises of adventure. This was it. He could open this door and step through and leave the mundane behind.

He raised the key before him, and its tip lit up with a brilliant light. The light stretched out and reached the keyhole, causing the whole door to glow brightly. Riku heard a distinct click.

The feeling of familiarity drained away from him, only to be replaced by a fear that was as bad as in his dreams. He broke out in a cold sweat as the air in the room became heavy. The key disappeared from his hand with a brilliant flash of light, and dark tendrils began crawling out from the door. He watched in horror as they formed themselves into a small black creature with soulless yellow eyes. The creature stared right at him and jumped forward with its claws barred. Right before it could strike, Riku turned away and bolted from the cave. 

Something had gone terribly wrong. As he was running, he thought he could hear that strange voice from earlier softly whisper to him, telling him that _he_ was the thing that had gone wrong, but he shoved it away.

He skidded to a halt on the shore when he spotted a storm looming above him. Wind caused the trees to whip around violently and sand to be kicked up into the air. His hair flew into his face when he looked upwards and saw a vortex forming in the sky.

It was then that Riku knew that his world was falling apart. The darkness was coming. It was coming for _him_.

He stomped down on his rising panic and shook his head to compose himself. He wasn’t some whiny kid, and he wasn’t going to freak out. He felt certain that opening the door was only way to get off the islands. He would let the darkness take him if he had to. Anything to be free.

The wind began blowing so hard that he had trouble keeping upright. More creatures rose from the sand, and they slowly surrounded him as he stumbled in the gale force wind. He had nowhere left to run as darkness spread out under his feet like ink. The creatures it touched melted and seamlessly joined the black pool. As more creatures joined the pool, Riku began to sink. He tried to struggle, to reach out, but the darkness had a firm grip on him. He couldn’t even manage to scream as it dragged him into its freezing cold depths. The last thing he saw before the darkness took him was Sora rushing down the beach.

1

Riku awoke to the sound of rushing water and an icy cold. He shivered and did his best to sit up. His head was spinning, and it took him a while to get his bearings. He managed to crack open his eyes to see himself surrounded by a waterfall that didn’t flow downwards, but up. He was sitting on a small stone platform, and when he looked over the edge he saw that it was astonishingly floating in midair. There was, without a doubt, magic at work here; the likes of which he had only read about. A brilliant smile spread across his face. He was in another world. Opening the door had worked!

His smile disappeared as he realized he was alone. Sora wasn’t with him, and neither was anyone else from his home world. Riku reassured himself that they all must have been transported elsewhere, but a niggling thought in the back of his mind told him that wasn’t the case. He shoved it down because he didn’t have time for regrets. He was finally on an actual adventure, so what did it matter if he was alone?

He stood up on shaky legs and got a better look at his surroundings. In the midst of the upside-down waterfall where many floating platforms adorned with ruined buildings. The stone ruins were covered in intricate blue designs that radiated magic, but not a single sign of life was to be found in the floating maze. It would be just his luck to finally leave and end up somewhere completely deserted.

He hopped off of the platform he was on and landed on the largest of the others. The design on the ground was mysterious, and he saw that the places where he stepped would light up with a faint light for a few moments. He walked around the square, amused by the trick until a shiver running down his spine forced him stop. The hair rose on the back of his neck, and he whipped around. No one was there.

_…You...I know you…_

It was the same voice that had spoken to him at the island, and it was much louder and clearer than before.

“Who’s there?” Riku whirled around again, but the square was still deserted.

A shrill cackle filled the air followed by a burst of darkness that a woman primly strode out of. A long black robe billowed behind her as she walked and black horns rose from her head. A staff with a glowing green orb at its tip rested in her right hand. She stopped a little away from Riku and stared down at him imperiously.

“Who are you, child, and what brings you to my domain?” Her voice was cultured and arrogant.  

Riku could tell the woman was bad news, but she was the only other person he had seen. For all he knew she might be the only one around for miles.

“I’m Riku. My world was destroyed by darkness, and I ended up here.” He wasn’t usually so frank, but he didn’t know what lie he could tell that would be believable.

The woman’s eyes flashed with something undetectable. “I see. Then you have no home to return to. If you would like, I would be happy to allow you to stay in my castle.” Despite the illusion that these words were kind, Riku had a feeling the woman had an ulterior motive.

He reluctantly agreed since the platform he was on was a dead end, and he had no idea how to navigate this strange world. He would only stick around the witch for as long he needed to.

“What’s your name, anyway?” he asked.

A small smirk appeared on the woman’s face. “I am Maleficent.”

She walked over to a metal diamond-shaped cage resting on a platform, and with a small tap of her staff, the cage opened and a dark purple orb emerged. It began glowing brilliantly, and another platform came towards them that appeared to be running on a magical relay.

In a mutual silence, the two of them climbed onto the platform. The moment Riku stepped fully onto it a barrier rose up around them, scorching the back of his shoe. He gaped at the barrier and the platform. He wanted to ask how they worked but decided against it since he didn’t want to look like an idiot.

As the platform slowly went over an enormous chasm, Riku saw one of the most breathtaking scenes he’d ever witnessed. The sunlight caught the clouds and waterfalls in a tantalizing way, lighting them up with red and gold. Swarms of black birds flitted in and out of the clouds, and he could distantly hear their calls. The foreboding yet magnificent castle they approached sent a small trill of excitement down his spine.

He kept feeling like this was only a dream, and that he’d wake up back in his room at the island and find that he was still trapped.

The platform stopped right by the entrance of the castle, and Riku and Maleficent stepped off. The witch strode purposefully towards the entrance of the castle, not bothering to spare Riku a glance. Riku was embarrassed that he had to actually walk fast to keep up with the tall woman’s confident stride. He felt less like a fifteen year old and more like an eight year old.

With a flippant knock of her staff, the huge doors of the castle glowed before they began to slowly open, revealing a grand foyer that had two staircases leading up to another set of richly decorated doors. The stairs were wrapped around a fountain that sported the same heart-like symbol Riku had seen proudly displayed on the castle’s highest tower.

Maleficent had walked farther into the foyer, but Riku was hesitant to go further before he got some more information.

“You’re not going to let me stick around for free.”

The witch stopped and turned to face him halfway. He saw a small smirk appear on her red painted lips. “It appears you are not the usual imbecile that often stumbles into my court. If you wish to stay within these walls, I would require you to do me a service. It’s but a simple one of finding a group of seven princesses that have been lost. I can inform you further after we have sat down. Speaking of business in foyer is very rude, after all.” She gave Riku a reproachful look.

When faced with her piercing stare Riku almost apologized, and had to stop himself at the last minute. Instead he simply nodded his head in agreement. He could have sworn he saw a satisfied look flash across the woman’s face before she elegantly made her way up the stairs. He followed her until they came to a huge dining room. Within was a wooden table that could easily have sat a hundred people.

Maleficent tapped her staff against the ground once, and in a flash of sickly green magic, a full set of silver dining ware appeared at the head of the table and the spot to its right. Some trays with steaming food also appeared, and Riku’s mouth began to water at the smell that was wafting over to where he stood.

“It is anathema to me to use my magic for such frivolous endeavors, but the lack of any competent servants requires me to make sacrifices,” Maleficent stated coolly as she made her way to the seat at the head of the table.

Before Riku could stop himself, he blurted out, “That didn’t seem frivolous to me at all.”

Maleficent had sat down and was now giving him a searching look. “Then you know nothing of what magic is truly capable of.”

“No, I don’t know anything about it,” Riku admitted reluctantly as he awkwardly sat down at the witch’s right.

“But you wish to know.”

There was a pause in their conversation as the witch served herself and then motioned for Riku to do the same. After the two of them had begun eating, (Riku had waited for her to take the first bite, just in case) Maleficent spoke again, “I would be willing to reveal some of the vast secrets of magic to you if you would do another favor for me. It is yet simpler than the first. There is a certain room in this castle that is the only room I have been unable to access. If you could manage to get inside of it, I would be willing to instruct you.”

“Why don’t you tell me about your first request before I start making promises to do something else,” Riku replied blandly, though his thoughts quickly went to the silver key. He had a feeling that it would open any door if it could open the door in the Secret Place.

Maleficent let out a small chuckle, which had a raspy tone to it that made it seem like she didn’t laugh often. “Yes, that would be the wisest course of action.” Much to Riku’s chagrin, the witch seemed to be mocking him. “I wish to open a door, a door that leads to infinite power and majesty. But I cannot do so unless I have the aid of seven princesses, who are spread across the worlds. I do not know exactly who they are, though I have many well-founded speculations. I need someone who is young and agile to traverse the worlds and help me in my search for the seven.”

“And that person would be me,” Riku drawled.

 “If you were to agree to aid me.”

“I don’t have much of a choice,” Riku said with some bitterness.

Maleficent gave him a very pointed look. “One always has a choice.”

Riku looked away from her gaze and continued to eat. After a few moments he spoke up, “I’ll help you find these princesses. Just try not to get me involved in whatever domination of all worlds plot you have going on.”

A small smirk appeared on her face again. “Most would ask for me to grant them power and prestige, yet you wish only to be left alone?”

“I just want to have some adventures before I die and trying to find a group of elusive princesses sounds like an adventure to me.”

Maleficent chuckled again. “Very well. If you still have an interest in learning from me, I will show you the door after our meal.”

Riku nodded to show his interest, and they finished up their meal. Maleficent then led him away from the dining room and through many winding corridors. Eventually, she stopped before an ordinary looking wooden door. Riku was about to make a sarcastic comment about how good of a witch she was if she couldn’t open a simple door, when Maleficent stepped forward and swung it open. Inside was a spacious, but bare, bedroom.

“This will be your quarters,” she announced with an imperious tone.

Riku stepped inside of the room. It had a medium sized bed with privacy curtains hanging from its canopy. An ornate bed stand rested to its left, and against the opposite wall was a small dresser, a desk, and bookshelf. All three were completely empty when Riku inspected them. There was also another door that led to a small bathroom.

When Riku returned to the hall, the witch was waiting for him. “Is it to your liking?” she asked with a tone that plainly said that even if he didn’t like the room, he wouldn’t be getting another.

“It’ll do,” was Riku’s own cool reply, even though he was a little giddy with the fact that the room was almost half the size of his house back on the islands.

Maleficent turned away gracefully and began making her way down the hall. Riku followed, expecting her to lead him to the mysterious door. After the two of them walked even farther into the maze-like corridors, they came to the door. It was almost as tall as the front entryway had been, though it was half as wide. The door gave off the feeling of being forbidden, and Riku mentally admitted that it looked pretty formidable.

“This door has not responded to any of the spells I have experimented with. It will also not break under any kind of force, no matter how great. From the floor plans of the castle, it appears that it should be a study adjoined to a bedroom. Obviously, it holds within some great secret. I wish you luck in unlocking it.” The witch turned away from him and glided down the corridor.

Riku was now alone in front of the gold trimmed, wooden door. The runes carved into it were making his skin tingle, and the magic radiating from it was downright terrifying. He was starting to doubt that his silver key could open it, but then he remembered the power he’d felt when he’d held the key in his hand, and his doubts were alleviated. He focused on his desire to open the door, but no key appeared in his outstretched hand. Instead a bright light flashed and quickly fizzled out. Riku tried to summon the key again and again, but the light only grew dimmer each time.

“Why isn’t it working?!”

_…It has abandoned you…the darkness chased it away…I_ _chased it away…_

Riku’s anger was quickly replaced by fear. The voice from earlier had returned, and it was loud enough that it was as if the words were being whispered right in his ear. He had hoped to try and ignore the voice, because he knew what hearing voices meant. He knew that talking back was probably the worst possible response, but the voice had answered his question. It knew where the key was and why he couldn’t summon it.

“Why would the darkness make it leave me?” Riku may have been terrified, but he wanted answers. “Why are _you_ keeping it from me?”

A quiet laugh filled the silence.

_…It is a key of light…it does not serve those who walk in darkness…_

Riku was genuinely confused. Yes, he had used the darkness to leave the islands, but he’d used the key to access it. On top of that, he wasn’t ‘walking in darkness’ whatever that even meant.

“I don’t ‘walk in darkness.’ Besides, I used the key with no problem before. Stop whatever you’re doing to keep me from summoning it!” Riku felt his voice fill with a shaky arrogance.

_…I must apologize…there is nothing I can do to break the bond that we have…_

“Bond? What are you talking about?” Riku was starting to panic, and he took a step back in trepidation. Not that it would do any good; the voice was coming from everywhere and nowhere at once.

_…Your mind is clouded with fear…I will converse with you at another time…_

“Wait!” Riku demanded, despite the relief he felt at the thought of the voice leaving him alone.

A soft laugh rang out.

_…I will break the seals on the door…the room within is now yours to explore…_

The faint shimmer of dark magic that covered the door flashed a bright purple before dissipating

_…I look forward to our next encounter.._.

As the presence that had been hovering around him left, Riku felt his fear fading. The moment it departed he fell to his knees and found himself shaking. He hadn’t realized until now how taxing the encounter had been, and he knew that whatever that thing was, it was powerful. It had unraveled the intricate seals placed on the door like they were nothing, and it was also stopping him from summoning the key.

A churning feeling filled his stomach, and Riku knew that he should get far away from this room, the castle, even the world itself, but he couldn’t leave. He didn’t have the key, and he couldn’t summon it. He was at both the mercy of a vile witch and a disembodied voice that claimed to have a ‘bond’ with him.

Riku unsteadily got to his feet. For the first time since he had opened the door, he let himself feel regret. He knew he had gotten involved in something he couldn’t easily rid himself of, and it was terrifying. He had no desire to find what lay behind the door, or to tell Maleficent that the way was open. Instead he began to stumble his way back to the room the witch had showed him to earlier. He constantly looked over his shoulder on the way back, but the voice did not speak again. When he finally got to the room, he slammed and bolted the door.

He stood in the dim light of the cold room, and felt more alone and lost then he ever had in his life. He missed Sora and Kairi. He missed his mother. Why the hell had he thought that using the darkness to leave was a good idea?

Another part of his mind replied that he had been about to go insane with boredom on the island. He left to find excitement, and that was sure as hell what he got. He didn’t need Sora or Kairi, and he didn’t need his _mother_.

He wasn’t a baby, and he could take care of himself.

Riku did his best to gather his nerves and began to get ready for bed. He did his best to ignore how his hands shook as he removed his clothes. He was exhausted, and soon after curling into the soft blankets of his new bed, he was deep in the realm of dreams.


	2. Black Flames

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit dull, but I promise the plot will begin to pick up next chapter!  
> A huge thank you to my betas, Whiteflame13 and VCAyuki.

Riku awoke to sound of a low pitched caw _._ He sat up, his head spinning from being pulled from sleep so suddenly. He opened his eyes and pulled back the privacy curtain that was around the bed. A raven was perched on his bedside table and it cawed again when he set his eyes upon it.

He growled at the bird in annoyance. He had absolutely no idea how it got into his room. Before he could go through with his desire to grab the bird and break its annoying little neck, the creature leaped into the air. It circled the confined space of his room and cawed many times.

A knock sounded at his door. “Wait a minute!” he called out over the bird’s racket. He groaned and dragged himself from his bed.

Riku pulled on his clothes and stumbled over to the door. It opened to reveal Maleficent, dressed very much as she had been the day before.

“It seems you’ve met the requirements I placed upon whether or not I would instruct you in the ways of magic. Though a barrier still prevents anyone from entering the room, the door’s seals have been broken,” the witch stated without preamble. She was giving Riku a strange look that was a mixture between annoyance and intrigue. “I applaud you on using my own words against me.”

Riku felt it was too early to deal with the intensity of having a conversation with his witch landlord.  He honestly had no idea that there was still a barrier baring entry from the room, and he definitely hadn’t been trying to use Maleficent’s own words against her. Regardless, he allowed an easy smirk to appear on his mouth. “I did what you asked. When is my first lesson?”

Maleficent tilted her chin upwards and looked down at Riku imperiously, “Once you look presentable.”

Riku did his best to hide his embarrassment at the fact that he looked ridiculous with his bed hair and disheveled clothing.

The raven flew out from Riku’s room, landing elegantly on Maleficent’s shoulder. It cawedpointedly at the witch, and she raised an eyebrow in reply.

“It seems my pet has taken a liking to you. Expect more wakeup calls in the future.” Maleficent turned around abruptly and began to make her way down the hallway. She stopped when she was a couple feet away. “I will meet you in the library.”

She didn’t bother giving any instructions on how to get to the library, and before Riku could think to speak up, she had disappeared.

He sighed and turned back to his room. He went into the bathroom and looked at his reflection in the mirror. His skin was as pale as ever. He never could figure out how he managed to be so white after spending so much time in the sun. He had bags under his eyes and looked a little sick.

Riku _was_ tired. He had slept poorly the night before, plagued by strange dreams and moments when he would lie half-awake in bed, consumed by an inexplicable terror.

He washed his face and ran his hands through his hair to try and tidy it. He would have to get a hairbrush since the room was empty. He didn’t have a change of clothes or even underwear. He hated the idea of asking Maleficent for help trying to get the items he needed, but he had no one else to turn to. The thought left a bitter taste in the back of his mouth.

Maybe he wasn’t as independent as he thought. It would have been nice to have Sora or Kairi with him right now.  He needed someone to share the situation with and help him figure out what exactly he should be doing.

_No!_

He stomped down on those thoughts. Why did he keep acting like he _needed_ his friends? He didn’t. They were fun to be around, and he cared about them, but he was the oldest and the most reliable. He took care of himself. _They_ werethe one who needed _him._

Riku stomped out of the bathroom as soon as he finished making himself presentable. When he stepped into the hall, he was greeted by another caw. He resisted the urge to flinch. Maleficent’s raven was perched on a statue’s head near the end of the hall. It motioned its head to the left a few times before jumping off its perch and flying down the hall.

Riku could see the bird was trying to guide him, and took off at a slight jog to keep up.

After a couple minutes of rushing through the castle corridors, he found himself back in the main foyer. The bird had stopped and was perched on a railing that was across from a set of huge wooden doors. They had mythical creatures carved on them, and Riku took a couple moments to look them over. He was a little mesmerized by the wooden interpretations of creatures he had only ever read about.

The raven cawed impatiently, and Riku gave it a glare before he pushed on the right door’s handle. It swung open easily enough.

The first thing he registered was books. Shelves and shelves of books. There were huge tomes with rich red spines that had gold trim and sea green ones with blue accents. Thin, plain brown ones and short and fat yellow ones. Riku had never seen so many books in his life.

Maleficent’s cultured voice wafted down to him, “Are you going to stand in the doorway for the rest of the morning?”

Riku looked up to where he had heard Maleficent’s voice come from. There was a grand staircase at the opposite end of the library leading up to a second floor balcony. He made his way up the stairs, trying not to gape. At the top of the stairs there was a gold engraved wooden table that had beautiful red cushioned chairs to match it. Maleficent lounged in one, looking very much like a dark queen sitting on her throne.

“Today I shall teach you, but tomorrow you shall venture out and fetch a princess for me.” Her tone was wry, though Riku saw a shine to her eyes that betrayed her excitement at the thought of her plans succeeding.

Riku walked to the table and sat down in the chair across from the witch. His feet barely reached the floor, and he felt ridiculous.

“How am I going to get off world? I won’t be able to use the method I did to get here,” Riku couldn’t help but ask. Bitterness rose up in him at the thought that he couldn’t summon the key any more.

“An ally of mine has a safe transport. He will arrive tomorrow to bring you to one of the princesses’ worlds. In time, you will be able to use dark corridors to travel, but for now the Captain’s ship will do.”

“Dark corridors? Like what you used when I first arrived?”

“Yes. They are a dangerous type of travel for those inexperienced in the ways of dark magic.”

Riku felt a tremor run down his spine when he remembered the voice claiming he “walked in darkness.” It sounded like he wasn’t too far away from using it to travel, and he didn’t really know if he was all right with that.

“Today I will teach you the most basic of fire magic. I know your interests lie in more domestic forms of magic, but I will begin with offensive magic for practicality’s sake. Princesses often have fully trained body guards watching over them, after all,” Maleficent continued.

Riku did want to know the finer points of magic, but he understood that incorporating it in his swordsmanship would be more practical. Besides, being able to summon flames at will sounded pretty badass.

“Before you can even attempt to summon flame magic, you must learn the basic threads of magic that combine into a spell. This is why we find ourselves in the library.”

There was a stack of books in the center of the table. Two were a crimson red and had black writing on their covers and spines. One read _Basic Spell Mechanics_ , and the other _Essence of the Flame_. The final book was a rich emerald green which had no writing on the outside. Riku picked it up and found that it was blank and meant to be a journal.

“You do not have to read all of this, simply as much as you need to understand.” The witch stood up from the table and began to make her way to the stairs. “I will be in the chapel if you need assistance. My pet will show you the way when the time comes.” Maleficent glided down the stairs without waiting for a response.

Riku felt a little disappointed. He probably could have found the books on his own, and Maleficent wasn’t really teaching him anything. Well, at least the hag had saved him some time, and he had something to write in that was his own.

He dragged the two books towards him and began to flip through them. He usually was too embarrassed to admit how studious he could be. Back on the islands Riku did run around and spar with his friends during the day, but at night he would curl up with a book and read about anything and everything. None of his friends were very scholarly, and he would never live it down if any of them saw how excited he was at being able to read about _actual magic_.

Finding a chapter that looked promising in _Basic Spell Mechanics_ , he began to read. He found the book easy to get through, despite the verbose language. He skipped around a bit, but the basics of magic were starting to come together. There was a quill and inkwell on the table that he used to take notes and draw out diagrams. He’d never written with a quill before, so his notes were both sloppy and covered in ink spots. What he wouldn’t give for a pen.

He set down the quill and pushed away from the table with a sigh. He had been working steadily for a while, and now he wanted to test out what he’d learned. In order for him to grasp elemental magic, he’d have to summon corporal magical energy. Once he got it at a high enough concentration, he could begin to work on shaping it into an element. Fire was the easiest to summon, which was why Maleficent had him starting with it.  Being able to summon magical energy would also mean that he could start practicing levitation and other simple techniques.

As he stepped out from the library, he found himself bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement. He stopped short as his mouth fell open at the scene outside of the library. He had walked out of the second floor doors and was greeted by a circular balcony that overlooked the main foyer. There was a complex design on the balcony’s railing and imposing gargoyle statues spread about. In the center of the ceiling was a gorgeous round platform that glowed. The blue and green color scheme was calming, and a contradiction to the gargoyles and cruel images shown in the railing.

Riku shut his mouth and walked further out onto the balcony. He closed his eyes and focused. Now wasn’t the time to be admiring the architecture. He had read that magic was drawn from two places. From the energy that lies within every living being and the energy that pulses in every world. He had to draw on the perfect balance of both. If he drew on too much of his own energy, he could cause himself to pass out, or even kill himself if he used it all. If he drew too much of the outside energy, he would lose control of the spell.

His first few attempts were failures as he drew too much of the world’s energy. Blue energy (outlined by a distinct black that he pointedly ignored) would gather but violently dissipate as he lost control of it. When he tried to draw on more of his own energy, he got dizzy. He had to keep taking breaks, lest he collapse.

Frustration pulsed through Riku. Fighting had always been easy for him, and he had reached the esteemed position of being the best out of his friends without much hassle. But magic was obviously not something he was a natural at. He understood what he had to do mentally, but the disconnection between mind and body was not something he’d encountered before. 

He couldn’t help but feel that if he had that key, magic would be easier. It was a ridiculous idea, since the key's only ability seemed to be opening impossible doors.

Opening his eyes with an exhausted sigh, Riku made his way back into the library. He had used up too much of his energy, and now he felt light headed. Part of him wanted to go speak to Maleficent to see if she could give him pointers, but he didn’t think she actually would help him. He wasn’t an idiot. He knew that the witch was just using him, but he didn’t have much choice but to follow along. He would simply gain as much power as he could from her before he went his own way.

He put the two books into a neat stack on the table and picked up his notebook. He would go back to his room, and try to figure fire magic out. When he stepped out of the first floor of the library he was greeted by another annoying caw _._ It reminded him that he still didn’t have any other clothes or anything to take care of himself with. He’d have to go crawling to Maleficent after all.

With another caw, the raven flew over to the main entryway, and Riku guessed that it was showing him the way to the chapel. He had thoughts of stained glass windows and holy men chanting, and he couldn’t help but feel that the witch would be entirely out of place. He followed the raven through winding balconies and rode on platforms similar to the one Maleficent and he had used to get to the castle yesterday. He found to his satisfaction that if he reached his hand towards the magical device that controlled a relay and focused on summoning his magic, he was able to get it to work. Maybe he wasn’t completely hopeless with magic.

The raven finally perched in front of a pair of wooden doors that had small stained glass windows in them. Riku pushed one of the massive doors open and was surprised to find the chapel different than he was expecting. Instead of the intimidating place of holiness and boring lectures that he had grown to expect, the chapel had a very dark appearance to it. The huge heart emblem was present where he would have expected a cross to hang, and there was a strange feeling of dread and excitement in the air. It reminded him of the feeling that he got whenever he dealt with the darkness.

Maleficent was standing at the front of chapel, looking like an unholy matron watching over her sanctuary. It was an incredibly disconcerting sight.

“I do hope you didn’t find the reading too difficult.” Her cultured voice was full of condescension. She turned to face him with a dramatic sweep of her cloak, the green orb on her staff glowing faintly.

“It was simple,” Riku bragged. “I came here to ask you about where I can get some clothes. There aren’t any supermarkets around, so I’m at a loss.”

Maleficent made a soft noise of amusement. She tapped her staff once on the ground, and Riku _felt_ a shift in the energy around him. He ignored the urge to grin at the fact that he could actually sense the spell.

“I have stocked your room with everything you could possibly need. I assume the clothing will be to your liking.” The way she pointedly eyed him let him know what she thought of his clothes. “I apologize for not stocking the room earlier. It seemed to have slipped my mind.”

The way she looked down her nose at Riku made his blood boil. She had deliberately not stocked it. She was playing mind games with him. He was about ready to start telling her what he thought of her bullshit when she began speaking again.

“I wish to see your progress with fire magic, since you claim it was _so simple._ ” A small smirk played on her lips.

Riku was angry. He didn’t care if his attempt at summoning magical energy would end in failure. He put his right hand in front of him and _focused_. In a flash of purple light, a ball of pitch black fire sat burning ice cold in the palm of his hand. He immediately ended the spell, his heart hammering in fear. That time he had felt himself drawing energy from a third, unknown source, and this source had filled in the energy gap that he kept running into earlier. Not to mention that he had summoned _black flames_ when he had barely been able to keep up a steady stream of energy before.

A soft chuckle accompanied by a slow clap filled the chapel. Riku noticed that his breathing was heavy, and he felt as if he had run a marathon.

“You are just full of surprises,” Maleficent drawled. “Not only are you not a complete imbecile, but you have a natural affinity for the darkness,” she said the word darkness as if she spoke of something sacred.

“Most would find summoning the dark elements extremely difficult, yet you completely skipped over the base element.” She stepped closer to him, looking down at him with a strange expression on her face. “Most curious indeed.”

Before Riku could get his mouth working again, Maleficent turned away from him with a dramatic sweep. She promptly left the chapel, her annoying pet following after her.

Riku’s mind was spinning. He couldn’t have possibly improved so much, yet the ice cold feeling in his right hand was a testament to his abilities. He remembered how he felt only moments before and tried again, but the energy broke apart just as it had outside the library. He was wobbling on his feet, but he wanted to figure out why it had worked in that exact moment.

_…It was…your anger…your will…to dominate…_

The voice that had opened the study for him was whispering at him again. It wasn’t as loud as it had been before. Riku’s reply was to attempt to summon flames again. He brought back his resentment at how Maleficent treated him and focused on it. The ball of flame appeared this time, though it was smaller. He lost control of the spell as he fell forward onto his knees, stabbing pain filling his heart.

_…You must not…rely…on anger…it will damage…your heart…you must…learn to control it…without emotion…_

“Could have told me earlier,” Riku gasped out.

The voice was quiet. Riku sat on his knees for a long time as he caught his breath. Eventually his heart stopped aching, and he was able to stand up.

“How the hell are you supposed to use it without emotion?” Riku demanded to the empty space. A part of his mind was telling him to forget using the darkness altogether, but he felt _something_ when he used it. There was still plenty of fear, but a twisted glee and even a small bit of pleasure had accompanied his second attempt at summoning dark flames. His interest was piqued.

It took a long time until the voice answered.

_…You must…be like the flames…do not…burn hot…but cold…a cold…detached fury…is the secret…that witch…uses this technique…as well…_

It was the first time the voice had even acknowledged Maleficent. “So the hag would just let me damage my heart?”

_…If you…became a Heartless…you would…be easier…to control…_

“A Heartless?”

_…You do not…know…I do not…have energy…to explain…go to…my study…books…help…_

The voice faded so much that Riku could barely understand it, but the image of the room that had been unlocked yesterday appeared in his mind when the voice mentioned ‘my study.’

“Just who are you? An old apprentice of the hag?” Riku got a tinge of worry about his personal safety.

The voice did not reply. If he wanted answers, he’d have to go to the study.

At first he thought that he didn’t know how to get back to the main foyer of the castle, much less the study, but when he began to walk, he _remembered_ the way. He shivered, as he realized these thoughts were not his own. He knew this was dangerous, but he wanted answers. The voice had been more helpful and kinder to him than Maleficent.

Riku effortlessly made his way to the study. When he arrived, the door was wide open. He could see an expensive floor rug, a stone fireplace, and a black leather chair inside. He stopped right before he entered the study. He remembered Maleficent saying that there was a barrier keeping anyone from going inside. He reached out his right hand, and to his amazement, his fingers passed through the barrier. He walked through it easily.

He couldn’t help but smile wryly. “You just didn’t want that hag to get in,” he commented as he looked around.

Inside there was a desk and many shelves packed with books. He still couldn’t believe how many books were in this castle. There was another two doors leading to different rooms. One was covered with the same runes that had sealed the study, while the unsealed door opened up to a storage closet filled with ragged clothes and other strange devices that he couldn’t identify.

Riku wandered over to the bookshelves. It took only a moment for his eyes to settle on a book entitled _Decent into Madness_. He reached for it, knowing that it was the book he was looking for just as he had known the way to the study. He sat down on the leather chair in front of the fireplace and began reading, shoving his exhaustion to the back of his mind.


	3. Guilt is a Black Wall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another slow one, unfortunately. I writing away to get to the good stuff, when I saw that the chapter was over 6000 words, so I had to divide it up. I suppose the good news is that the next chapter is already 2000 words in, so maybe the wait will be a bit less this time.  
> Thank you to everyone who left kudos, subscribed, bookmarked, and commented! Your response is much appreciated. Also thank you to my betas, Gryphon97 and Whiteflame13.

A throbbing pain in his neck woke Riku. He groggily sat up and found himself unceremoniously draped over the leather chair he had been reading in the night before. His stomach ached and growled noisily. Riku realized that in all his excitement over magic he had forgotten to eat. He realized that when Maleficent had left the chapel, she most likely had been going to eat dinner.

He groaned and leaned his head back into the chair. He had read last night that the Heartless were vile creatures created when someone lost their heart to darkness. They were always hungry for more hearts, making them extremely dangerous. The creatures that had appeared on his island after he opened the door in the Secret Place had definitely been Heartless. He now understood the fear he felt when he summoned the darkness. It was his mind’s natural response to how incredibly dangerous it was to use. Though the book had no explanation for the glee he felt.

The voice had been quiet since it had faded away in the chapel, but Riku could feel it’s presence in the room with him. He slid out of the chair, setting the slightly crumpled book down on the seat of the chair.

“I’m going to go get something to eat,” he said to the empty room. He didn’t know why he felt that he needed to try to explain himself to a disembodied voice.

_…Are you going off world today?..._

The voice was now very clear and almost sounded as if it was someone speaking out loud, though that strange otherworldly echo still accompanied it. Riku wondered if that meant that the voice was growing stronger and resisted a shudder at the thought.

“Yeah, I’m going to go get a princess for Maleficent today,” Riku replied dryly. “How I love being some hag’s minion.”

_…Do not use the darkness…not yet…I will teach you how to wield it correctly…_

“Why are you helping me so much? You still haven’t told me who you are,” Riku demanded as he narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

_…Go and nourish yourself…fetch a princess…it will take time to explain…time that we do not have now…_

Riku sighed in annoyance. “You still won’t let me use the key, will you?”

The voice did not answer, though Riku still felt the unnerving presence of something else in the room with him.

“Fine.” He petulantly turned from the study to hide his growing unease and began to walk down the hall.

His life had become completely insane in only a few short days. He had realized last night that he had used the key to destroy his home world. The guilt that nagged the back of his mind was unpleasant, to say the least. He was separated from his closest friends, and he frankly didn’t know if they were still alive. If they weren’t, it would be his fault. On top of all that, he was putting his welfare in the hands of a crazy witch, and his trust in a disembodied voice. It was obvious he was on the road to disaster, but he felt helpless to do anything about it.  

Riku found himself walking into the dining room Maleficent and he had eaten in before. Once again, he effortlessly maneuvered his way there. It seemed the voice had given him a mental map of the entire castle. At least he wouldn’t have to be escorted around by that infuriating bird all the time.

There was breakfast spread out at the head of the table, and it looked as if some of it had already been eaten. Maleficent was nowhere to be seen. He sat down at the table, the sound of the chair scrapping against the stone floor ringing in the empty hall. He ate his fill of still warm food and didn’t have to hear a single annoying _caw_ or be talked down to. Though after he was finished, he did start to wonder where Maleficent was. She had mentioned a colleague of hers yesterday, but no one was anywhere to be seen.

Riku got up from the table, planning to wander around and try to find the witch. He did not have to travel far, however, when another familiar _caw_ rang out. The raven swooped down and actually landed on his head. He batted at it, and it flew into the air, making more noise. It flew in a direction Riku hadn’t been in before, and he reluctantly followed it. If he knew the location he could have found it himself, but Maleficent had no idea that he was getting aid from another source. He would like to keep it that way.

Riku was relieved when he heard voices carrying down one of the corridors. He had never heard any of them before, and he assumed that they must have belonged to Maleficent’s supposed colleagues.

The raven flew through a small doorway, and the moment it passed the door’s threshold the voices ceased.

As Riku got closer he heard a strangely accented voice ask, “Does this mean you’re finally going to introduce us to the brat that you found?”

Riku immediately bristled at hearing someone call him a brat. He stood up straighter and put on his best arrogant look. It was the one he usually wore after beating Sora about twenty times in row.

He practically sauntered into the room and was grateful that he had steeled himself before entering because the people he found within were absolutely horrifying.

A large green pool of energy sat in the middle of the room, casting it and its occupants in an unnatural light. One man had flaming blue hair; there was a woman who appeared to be some sort of octopus creature, and another person who looked to be completely made out of cloth. The last two strangers were human, but both men were tall, intimidating, and very ugly.

“Come, Riku. I wish for you to meet my associates,” Maleficent’s voice wafted over from the other side of the room. Her raven was now perched on her left shoulder.

Riku used every ounce of his willpower to keep up his haughty act. The group before him was probably the most clichéd group of villains ever, and he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry over that fact that he would soon be one of them.

He stepped forward, finding himself standing in a convenient break in the circle of villains.

“He doesn’t look like much,” the octopus woman drawled, smacking her red painted lips at him.

“I’m not too keen on takin’ a brat on board my ship,” snarled the man with a twisted mustache and a long red coat.

Maleficent drew up indignantly and tapped her staff on the stone floor, sending out sparks of green magic. “Riku is perfectly capable; nothing like the fools that run amok on your home world, _Captain.”_

Riku couldn’t believe that the hag had actually stood up for him. The dark flames he’d summoned yesterday must have impressed her more than he thought.

The strange man dressed in red sneered at Maleficent, but didn’t complain any more.

Maleficent looked over to Riku. “These five are my council and closest allies. They wish to gather the Princesses and seek the power they will unlock, just as I do. This is Captain Hook, and he will be the one to provide you with transport today.” Maleficent motioned towards the man dressed in red. “His ship has the capability to transverse the space between worlds. Today you will be embarking to a world covered in thick woodlands. Living amongst its vast forests is a young woman who is most assuredly one of the seven."

A translucent image of a woman floated above the green pool, and the peculiar lighting made her look sickly. She had curly hair, large eyes, and was very petite. Riku felt shaken at the sight of her, as flash of Kairi's face danced before his eyes before fading. It made no sense at all. The women looked nothing like her, but something about her reminded him of Kairi.

"Looks like the kid's just lost his nerve to me," the man with the flames on his head commented with amusement.

The sudden reminder of his friend had caused his facade to slip, and so Riku quickly wiped the surprise from his face. "She reminds me of someone I know is all. That changes nothing." He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "When do we leave?"

"Immediately. Captain Hook will show you to his ship," Maleficent’s statement was a thinly veiled command.

Hook sneered down at Riku. "Follow me, brat. We don't have time for lollygaggin’ about."

Captain Hook stepped from his place at the table, and Riku reluctantly followed. The women with the tentacles leered at him as he walked past, and he had to resist the urge to walk faster out of the room. The Captain's strides were long, much like Maleficent’s, and Riku had to almost jog to keep up. Hook pulled a small wooden disk from his coat as he walked.

"Once you’ve got the girl, use this to call the ship back to pick you both up. Don't ya dare activate it any earlier, or I'll leave you there, Maleficent's pet or no." He tossed the disk in Riku's direction, and Riku easily snatched it from the air.

"I'm not her pet!" Riku protested as he glared down at the runes engraved around the edge of the disk. They looked a bit like the ones that had pulsed on the study’s door before the voice had opened it.

Hook laughed at that, a cruel laugh that sent shivers down Riku's spine. He didn't grace Riku with any more of an answer than that, and the two of them walked along the castle’s corridors in silence. As he walked, Riku attempted to summon dark energy to try and activate the disk. Black magic fizzled at his fingertips, but the runes remained unchanged.

"How do I activate this?" Riku asked Hook as they entered main foyer.

"Aren’t you're supposed to be a wizard, brat? You should know how these things work." Hook gave a vile grin at Riku’s blank look. “Some blood should do the trick.”

Riku felt the blood drain from his face, and he glanced down at the small disk with trepidation. He would rather not have to hurt himself just to get back. He would have to find out if the darkness could let him travel on his own for the next time he left. He had seen Maleficent use a dark portal when he first arrived on this world, so it was possible he could use a similar portal to travel between worlds.

The two of them walked along the platforms that lined the castle walls. The late morning was still misty, and a slight chill pierced the air. The sun was beginning to peek through the cloud cover and shone down on them at places. Hook stopped suddenly and unsheathed his sword.

Riku tensed and felt a rush of panic when he realized he didn’t have a sword of his own. He could hardly rely solely on his fledgling magic skills. Thankfully, Hook didn't attack. He raised his sword in the air, and it shone in the morning light. A huge ship burst from the clouds in response, and in a heart stopping maneuver, it lined itself up parallel to the platform they stood on. Hook took a well measured step back. Riku rushed to follow suit as a wooden gangway was thrown over the side of the ship and landed with a heavy bang were the two of them had just been standing. Catcalls sounded from the ship, and Riku was mortified to realize they were meant for him. It took everything he had not to flush in humiliation.

"Shut yer traps. This brat is Maleficent’s and if any of ya touch a hair on his pretty little head, she'll roast ya like a pig and after I've run ya through! Now get ready to enter the Space Beyond, you rats!" Hook bellowed at the crew as he walked up the gangplank, Riku following after.

The lot of them did shut up and began rushing in a frenzy around the ship. Riku was doing his best to appear impassive as he took in the sight of a real pirate ship. It was just like something out of an adventure book filled with treasure and treachery.

Hook was walking up to the helm, and Riku followed him for a lack to anything else to do. Hook sneered when he noticed.

"Stop following me like a lost dog, brat. Go find some corner to sit in," Hook snarled before taking his place at the helm.

Riku was about to snap back at the rude dismissal when the ship took off, almost knocking him over. The wind blew Riku’s hair into his face, and he sputtered before straightening it out. The ship cut through the surrounding clouds, and they were enveloped in a cold grey mist. The ship’s deck was a flurry of activity and shouts of commands and information flew from one end of the ship to another. Riku was jostled by pirates running back and forth and he almost lost his footing again.

When the ship broke through the clouds, the cold grey passed into brilliant sunlight. The clouds shone golden, and the sky above was a deep blue. A barrier formed around the ship with a noise that sounded like one hundred tinkling bells. Riku marveled at it and decided to try and find books about barrier magic as soon as he got back to the castle. The ship sped up considerably, and Riku was relieved that the barrier was keeping most of the wind back.

He walked on unsteady feet down the deck, doing his best not to get hit by the bustling crew. Many of them still leered and insulted him as he walked past despite Hook's threat. The sky was steadily darkening as the ship rose higher and higher. There was a thunderous boom, and the ship jumped in speed again, this time succeeding in knocking Riku over. The crew around him broke out laughing at the sight.

"Little brat doesn't have sea legs yet."

"Don't ya mean sky legs?"

"Ya know what I mean!"

"Shut up, the lot of you!" Hook bellowed. "Get back to work! Mr. Smee, take the brat down below and make sure he stays there until we land!"

A small and fat man with a red nose nodded vigorously in reply. “Y-yes, Captain!"

He ran down the stairs to the main deck so quickly that he almost slipped.

Riku climbed to his feet, only to be roughly grabbed on the forearm by the man. "Come along, now," he said in his nasally voice, "if the Captain wants you below deck, then that's where you'll go."

The sky around them was black and filled with twinkling stars that made white trailing lines in the sky as they flew onward. Riku was so amazed by it all that he barely resisted the rough treatment.

"How are we still breathing?" he asked in a faint voice.

He had read that the air grew thinner and thinner the higher you climbed in the sky, and it was predicted that there wouldn't be any if you left the atmosphere. On the islands no one knew of anyone who had managed to break through the atmosphere, and that was why Sora, Kairi, and he had wanted to make a raft. If they couldn't leave by air, maybe they could reach another place by traveling the vast oceans that surrounded them.

Mr. Smee chuckled. "With magic, of course. Now that's enough questions!"

He was dragging Riku down into the hold of the ship, and as the stairway approached, Riku was finally knocked from his amazement to start resisting.

"Let go of me!" Riku knocked Mr. Smee in the side, and he yelped in pain before letting go.

"Why, how rude!" he exclaimed before trying to grab Riku again.

"I can go by myself," Riku grumbled as he dodged out of the way and dashed down the stairs.

Mr. Smee rushed after him, but Riku was quicker. The hall broke off into three different paths, and Riku took the left one. He saw a door to his right and slipped into the room before quietly shutting the door. He could hear Mr. Smee yelling for him, but his footsteps were getting softer. He waited a few tense moments as the shouts for him to come back grew fainter. He smirked at how easy that had been. He wasn't going to let some annoying lackey hound him the entire journey, however long it might be.

He was annoyed at how little he'd been told. When they arrived at the woodland world, he wouldn’t even know how to find the princess. He sighed and rested his forehead against the rough wood of the door. He wasn't even sure he would go after her. After Hook tossed him overboard when they landed, Riku could easily slip into a town and forget this whole thing. He didn't have to kidnap anyone or wake up with fear tasting bitter in the back of his throat.

A quiet promise from the morning popped into his head, _Do not use the darkness…not yet…I will teach you how to wield it correctly._ If he just held out he would learn magic and to master dark powers that he had never even dreamed of using. Maleficent might just be using him, but whoever that voice belonged to might be a different story, no matter how unsettling it was. Was he really going to just let this opportunity go to waste? Would he really be happy spending the rest of his life on some world who’s solely defining feature was having a huge forest?

He pulled away from the door. "Getting that princess will be easy. Just knock her over the head and bring her back to the ship," he reassured himself. "It's a lot better than destroying a whole world, right?" Riku flinched at how his voice broke.

He'd already destroyed his own world after all, so what was one woman compared to all that?

Riku opened the door and flinched at the orange light of the hall spilling into the dark of the room. He couldn't hear anything but the sound of the ship creaking. He looked back into the room and smiled at what he saw. Swords and guns lined the walls, and a dagger sat invitingly on a crate in front of him. He remembered Hook’s ominous words about how to activate the wooden disk and slipped the dagger into one of his pockets.

Next, he reached for one of the sabers. He unsheathed it and swung it in practiced motions that he had used countless times in brawls with Sora and the others. It wasn't the kind of short sword he'd used on the island, but it would do. He wasn't planning on using it unless he had too, but it was best to be prepared. He grabbed a belt and holster off the wall and adjusted it to fit as best he could. Much to his annoyance, he had to use the very last hole in the belt. He had been the biggest and best on the islands, but out here he was just a kid.

Riku pulled his hand into a fist and sneered at the empty room. He really had to stop being so pathetic. He turned to leave the room, putting on an air of confidence for himself alone. He might be just a kid, but that didn't mean he couldn't handle whatever came his way. He would get back his independence and grow more powerful. The next time he saw Sora and Kairi, he'd bet they'd hardly recognize him.

3

The woodland world was aptly named. As the ship glided through the light blue sky of a whole other world, an immeasurable green of treetops colored the land to the horizon. Riku could hear the sound of the trees blowing in the wind, and it was so reminiscent of the sea that he felt both homesickness and guilt at once. He’d never see the shores of the islands again.

Hook was bellowing orders at the crew, and Mr. Smee was standing nervously next to him. Riku had been left alone for the ten hour voyage and hadn't even been chewed out for ditching Mr. Smee. He supposed it was because he'd kept to himself below deck for the majority of it. The ship came to a stop and hovered in the air. Riku marveled at how it didn't make a noise as it effortlessly kept its altitude.

Some of the pirates began unrolling a rope and wood ladder from the side of the ship. It didn't look long enough to reach the ground, but as they pulled it out, the ladder kept coming. More magic, of course. Riku felt a twinge of jealousy. There were worlds were magic was a simple tool used for everything under the sun, and he had been born in one where it had been just a fairy tale.

"Brat!" Hook bellowed as he stormed down the deck towards Riku. "This is your stop. When you have the girl, use the beacon I gave you to call the ship back. If you use it before you grab her, there'll be hell ta pay!"

"Aye aye, Captain," Riku replied dryly.

Hook was already red in the face and his flush darkened at Riku's tone. "Don't you give me any cheek! Now get down there, my boys and I don't have all week!"

"Do I get any clues?" Riku asked as he was backed towards the ladder.

"Clues?"

"Where to find her, how to grab her, stuff like that?" Riku asked slowly, like he was talking to Sora after he'd knocked his head one too many times.

"That's your job, brat. Now get off my ship."

The crew was gathering around him and someone reached out and shoved him towards the ladder, causing him to stumble. The rest were heading for him, and so he scrambled to the ladder and starting climbing down as fast as he could. The crew laughed heartily at his expense. Riku had never been afraid of heights, but he was nervous daring a ladder this long. Surprisingly, it didn't sway at all, and Riku assumed it was because of more magic.

The climb down was long, but thankfully Hook didn't have the ship set sail in the middle of it. After he got below the tree level, the sunlight became muted, and he could hear the sounds of the forest besides the crashing of the trees in the breeze. Birds chirped and flew past him and squirrels ran through the trees around him. The forest was a calm place, and Riku felt like an intruder as he set foot on solid ground. He was only here to cause trouble.

He decided then that he would ask the voice to teach him how to use portals to travel between worlds. Once he could, he would bring the princess back home and undo all of this.

The ladder suddenly snapped upwards like a blind, and Riku jumped back to avoid having his nose wacked. He looked around at the thick woods surrounding him and felt an overwhelming loneliness.


	4. All That Remains

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the kudos and comments!  
> Thank you to my betas, Howl for the Moon and ChaosxPaladin.

The sun was setting, but Riku hadn't hit a break in the forest. He hadn't come across a single other person; there was nothing in the forest but small animals and bugs. He was hungry, his feet hurt, and he was starting to wonder if this was some sort of cosmic joke. Maybe everything since he'd opened the door in the secret place had been.

His foot caught on a root of a tree for the hundredth time that day, and he stumbled, crashing through thick foliage. He cursed as he pulled himself up and shifted through bushes that towered over his head. When he finally broke through, a wide road paved with grey cobblestones greeted him. It was cracked in places and weeds were beginning to sprout in between the stones. Riku stepped out onto the road, feeling relieved to set his feet on even ground for the first time in hours. In both directions, the road stretched on all the way to the horizon.

Riku was about to lament the lack of human contact when he saw a dark shape down the road that was slowly moving towards him. If he squinted, he could make out the outline of a black horse and a rider in dark clothing. Riku started walking towards them, his curiosity overwhelming. He could ask them where the nearest town was and the whereabouts of the woman he was after. _She's supposed to be a princess, right? She'll probably be in the nearest castle. I wonder how I'm going to sneak in._

The shape began moving faster, a distinct clopping sound filling the quiet. It wasn’t long until the horse came upon him. It was a huge beast that easily dwarfed the petite woman who rode it. She urged the horse to slow down in a high-pitched voice, and they came to a stop only just in time to avoid a collision. The woman pulled back her hood and revealed the face of the princess he was after. Riku did his best to keep the surprise from his face. _What is she doing in the middle of nowhere, by herself? Well, at least it'll make things easier,_ he thought with a sinking heart.

"Hello," she greeted in that same breathy voice. Her riding clothes and long brown cloak were a startling contrast to the dress she'd worn in the green projection. She was also far more beautiful in person. "I'm happy to meet another traveler."

"As am I," Riku replied smoothly. He doubted he could pull her down from the horse if he tried. He was certain that it was scowling at him, and it kept hitting its hoof against the road in irritation. "My name is Riku. Who are you?"

The woman blinked down at Riku for a moment before gently saying, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Riku. Please, call me Snow. Where were you headed on this fine day?"

"Nowhere in particular. I'm on an adventure," Riku flashed her a confident smirk, "I want to go wherever this road can take me," he lied. It was easy, but that hardly meant he felt any better about it.

The woman smiled, and Riku was hit with that unexplainable reminder of Kairi again. _I just miss her. They're nothing alike._

"I'm on an adventure, as well, going as far South as I can." She pointed down the road, the way Riku had come from. "North just isn't the place for me anymore." Her smile faltered as pain shone in her eyes.

Riku immediately felt bad for her and wondered if he really could pull this off.

"Do you need any company?" Riku asked.

The hurt disappeared behind another smile. "Yes, I think this is an adventure best not taken alone."

Her horse snorted and tugged on the reins. She petted its neck, but the horse whinnied.

"What is it, Nigel?"

The horse reared, and the princess cried out. She managed to keep her seat, but the horse was still fidgety. Riku doubted it was because of him and spun around, looking for danger.

His heart sped up at the sight of a solid black wall on the horizon that wasn't there a moment ago. It was heading towards them, swallowing everything in its wake. Even the sky looked like it was being swallowed up as it darkened and swirled into a terrible vortex. The sky was just as it had been before his world was swallowed by darkness.

"We have to run!" Riku's voice cracked as he turned back to Snow.

Nigel looked like he would bolt at any moment.

"Get on!" Snow yelled as she did her best to keep the horse steady.

Riku had never ridden a horse before, but he barely hesitated before rushing over to her. He put his hands on the horse’s middle and lifted himself up onto it. Nigel almost reared again, but Snow distracted him by pressing her feet into his sides and urging him forward. Riku grabbed onto the woman in front of him to keep from flying off the back of the horse.

The darkness was growing closer by the second, and Riku knew that the horse wouldn't be able to outrun it. He managed to center himself and let go of Snow with one hand before reaching into his pocket for the wooden disk. The sound of the rushing wave of black was louder than ever, and Riku was starting to feel a biting cold at his back. He grabbed the wooden disk with his teeth, so he could pull the dagger from his pocket. For one heart stopping moment, he let go of Snow completely to draw the dagger from its sheath. He drew it across his palm without a second thought, and flinched at the pain. He threw the dagger away before grabbing back onto Snow’s waist. He grabbed the disk from his mouth with his bloody hand, and the runes engraved on it flared a dark purple.

A sound like the crack of thunder roared above them. Riku looked up to see Hook's ship hovering just above the tree line.

"What is that?" Snow cried.

"Our ride out of here!" Riku yelled back. The roar of the darkness was deafening.

The road wasn't wide enough to allow the ship to fly any lower, but the ladder flew down to hover right next to them.

"You need to jump!" Riku practically yelled in her ear.

"I-I can't!"

"You want to die?" He asked in desperation. The last time he'd been swallowed by darkness he'd woken up safe and sound, but there was no guarantee he'd be so lucky this time.

Snow's reply was to shake her head, her black hair flying back and forth. Before Riku could try and think of something else to say to convince her, she jumped. The ladder was close enough that she landed on it and held on with a white knuckled grip.

Riku was left alone on the horse, and as Nigel began to veer away with panicked whinnies, he wondered if telling her to jump first was a good idea.

Snow had started to climb up, but to Riku's horror the ladder was rising; Hook's ship was taking off. In one daring motion he jumped from the horse. He reached up as far as he could, but his hands just missed the last rung of the ladder. He landed with a terrible crack as the wind was knocked out of him. The cobbles before him swam in his vision, but before he could even try and take a breath, ice cold black hit him. Terror tore through his mind, and his heart felt like it was being torn apart before he lost consciousness.

4

His mouth was dry. It was the sort of cracked dryness that reminded him of when he had to sleep with a cold and spent the whole night breathing through his mouth. Riku's first instinct was to reach for the glass he usually kept at his bedside table, but pain shot through his arm when he tried to move it. It felt like the time he'd broken it when he'd fallen from his bedroom window. He forced his eyes open and was greeted by a blue, cloudless sky. He narrowed his eyes. _This isn’t my room._

He lay there for a few moments, trying to get his brain working. It was hard to think, and the throbbing of his arm wasn't helping at all. He remembered not being home for a few days. _I haven’t been staying over at Sora's, though, so why haven’t I been home?_

Riku sat up, crying out as he jostled his arm. He needed to get to the hospital. His mom was going to be furious again. She always told him he was too reckless. His left hand hurt, and he saw that it had a deep gash down the palm. It was still sluggishly bleeding. Riku tore a strip from his shirt and wrapped it around his hand with the help of his teeth. It tasted terrible, but he had to do something to stop the bleeding. After he finished tying the dirty piece of cloth, he managed to get to his feet and almost fell over again at what he saw.

He was in a desert valley that would have been barren if it weren't for the mass of metal objects sticking out of the ground. Riku slowly walked towards one and saw that it had a handle. He reached forward with his good arm and grabbed it. Something shot through his arm and in that moment he remembered everything. He had destroyed his world. He was staying in a castle with a witch and a wraith. He'd been trying to kidnap an innocent women when the woodland world had been consumed by darkness.

His breathing had picked up at the rush of memories, so he took a few deep breaths to calm himself. He had managed to survive again, no thanks to Hook. Riku decided then and there that if he ever saw that pirate again, he'd stab him with the sabre he'd taken from the armory. The sword was still with him, though his sword arm was currently broken, making it useless.

He was still holding onto the metal and quickly let go of it. It gave him a feeling like he was looking at a dead body. He looked over the span of wicked metal sticking from the ground and realized that the shapes were familiar. He steeled himself and grabbed onto the metal again, before trying to pull it from the ground with all his might. It took three tries before it finally broke free, and he stumbled at the sudden lack of resistance.

The metal looked a lot like the key he'd used to destroy his home world. Riku dropped it like he'd been burnt. He looked around wildly and had to bite down hysteric laughter. He was standing in a wasteland, surrounded by giant keys. This was definitely a step down from the reverse waterfall he'd woken up to last time.

Riku had no idea what to do, as he didn't know healing magic and his arm was throbbing steadily. He was border lining on panic when he heard footsteps. They were heavy, and a clanking noise rang out with every step. A man in a full suit of armor was walking towards him. In his right hand he held a keyblade that was bigger than the one Riku had briefly used, and all of the ones that stuck out of the ground around him. It was orange and gold, unlike the dead grey of the surrounding keys. Riku could sense magical power rolling off of it in waves. He started walking towards the man, tentative hope forming.

"Hey!" he called out, "I'm Riku!"

The man simply kept walking.

"Where is this?"

The man still gave no reply as they continued to draw closer to one another. Once there was only a short distance between them, the man drew back his blade. Countless rounds of sparring took over, and Riku jumped back, crying out as he jarred his broken arm. The keyblade landed with a devastating crash, leaving a crater where Riku had once stood.

"Whoa! What's your problem?" Riku asked, his voice cracking.

He didn't have time to try and clumsily draw his own blade with his off hand, as another slow but powerful strike headed his way.

_...Xeha...nort..._

A voice rang out, faint and echoing, but Riku recognized it in an instant as the same he'd heard many times before.

"I thought you wanted to help me!" Riku yelled as he scrambled back again, the pain making his head spin. As he righted himself, he desperately reached for his dark flames, but his concentration was broken by a small boulder of conjured earth flying towards him. He noticed it too late, and closed his eyes, expecting a violent impact with his skull. Instead there was a sharp crack, and Riku felt a waterfall of magical energy in front of him.

He opened his eyes and saw a rippling barrier bursting from his outstretched arm, though he didn't remember raising it. Small purple waves of lightning passed over the barrier, and it cast Riku's view in a purple tint.

The man howled at the sight of the barrier, and the inhuman scream sent shivers down Riku's spine. The man dropped his blade and fell to the ground, clutching his head.

_... **Be gone**..._

The voice that rose up was clear and powerful, and it sounded as if it came from right behind Riku. With another terrible screech, the armor that sat before Riku suddenly broke to pieces and lifted from the ground. It twirled in on itself, as if caught in a tornado, before it shot away, flying into the distance. The key remained lying on the ground.

The barrier dissipated, along with Riku's strength as his legs gave out. Pain throbbed from his arm and exhaustion clutched at his consciousness. It was the same feeling he'd had after overtaxing himself outside of the library. Yet he knew he hadn't cast a single spell. No, someone else had.

_...You cannot rest…not yet..._

The voice was quiet, a whisper to his right.

Confusion trudged sluggishly through his mind. "You just tried to kill me. What the hell is going on?"

 _...It was not I that attacked you...it was a remnant…of hate...nothing more_.. _.now you must gather your strength...I must get you back to the castle…I cannot if you lose consciousness..._

Riku slowly climbed back to his feet, wincing in pain. His head spun so badly he thought he would fall over again, but he felt a steadiness come over him. His hand raised on its own, black power pouring from it, before a rippling dark portal opened in front of him.

_...Go...I will guide you home..._

He stepped into the portal and cold darkness enveloped him. His heart hammered in his chest, but it didn't hurt. A light shone at the end of the long black tunnel that stretched before him.

_...Go towards the light...do not falter or you will be lost..._

Riku took one hesitant step forward, then another and another, until he was moving as quickly as he could with a broken arm. He felt as if someone walked next to him, and it offered a strange comfort.

Time was warped. It seemed as if he'd been walking through the tunnel forever, but simultaneously, for only a few seconds. He stopped when he reached the circle of light at the end. The light was so bright that it was blinding, and an unbearable heat blazed from it. Riku was certain he'd be burned if he stepped through.

_...Go..._

He could have sworn he felt a nudge to his left shoulder, but when he looked behind him, there was nothing there. The dark just stretched on without end.

_...You cannot stay here…Riku..._

The sound of his name knocked him from his hazy thoughts. _He’s right, I can't stay here._

He stepped through the burning portal of light with new determination and set his feet on solid ground.


	5. A Pact That Cannot Be Broken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there everyone! After a long wait, here’s the next chapter. I plan on working on this steadily throughout the summer, so hopefully you’ll get a few more chapters out of me before the semester starts.
> 
> A special shout out to my betas ChaosxPaladin and Gryphon97.
> 
> Thank you for your comments!

A thunderous crack struck through the blank haze of Riku’s mind, and he sat up with a jolt. He stared wildly around him, his heart hammering with fear. He was lying in a bed, and heavy blankets were wrapped around his waist. Stone walls surrounded him, and a window across from him revealed that a storm was raging outside. Riku felt his fear abate as he recognized the metal platforms and cold landscape that surrounded Maleficent’s castle.

He was safe.

He felt a dull ache in his forearm, but it was a relief when compared to the stabbing pain he could vaguely remember. He looked down to find his broken arm in a sling, and saw that his hand was completely healed, not even a scar remained. The room that surrounded him was unfamiliar. The furniture was far more ornate than what lay in the room Maleficent had given him, and large diagrams and tapestries covered the walls. One diagram caught his attention, as it had _DOOR TO DARKNESS_ written at the top in bold letters _._

Riku’s mind was still sluggish. He simply stared ahead at the winding curves of the bolded letters, not yet processing their significance. He could hardly keep his eyes open, but the gap in his memory kept him from lying down again. He couldn’t recall how he got here, or how his injuries were treated. He simply remembered a long dark corridor and a blazing circle of light at the end.

Another crash of thunder knocked him out of his daze. Riku’s stomach was rumbling and his mouth was uncomfortably dry. He pulled himself from the bed and set his bare feet down onto a fur rug. He took another look around the room and both saw and felt that he was alone. A pitcher of water and a glass sat invitingly on the nightstand next to the bed. He poured himself a glass of water and drank it in a few gulps. He had finished another glass before his eyes settled on the door of the room. Familiar purple runes covered its surface, and Riku realized that his current condition had nothing to do with Maleficent.

“Where are you?” Riku asked.

The sense of being alone vanished and Riku drew his gaze to an armchair that rested next to the window. The chair appeared empty, but Riku knew that someone was there.

_…How are you feeling?..._

“Better.” Riku looked away from the chair, his eyes settling back onto the diagram. “I don’t remember treating my injuries.”

His comment was met with silence. Riku felt a rising sense of panic.

He anxiously pulled on the blanket with his free hand, unsure of how to put this insane situation into words. “It was you who treated my injuries, wasn’t it?”

_…I apologize…for any discomfort I have caused…I simply could not leave you lying injured on the floor…_

Riku felt himself shaking. Fear sent his heart pounding, but he forced himself to only show anger. “So, you just hijacked my body to do it?” he shouted, “That's something you can do whenever you want?"

The presence in the room seemed to shrink, and Riku thought for a moment that it was going to leave him locked in here. His eyes flew from the diagram, to the warded door, before finally settling back onto the armchair.

_...It was not my intention to instill this terror in you…I see that I have made a grave error…_

The slight thrum of magic in the room from the wards on the door was drowned out by a much more powerful influx of dark magic. For a moment, Riku thought he saw someone standing before the armchair by the window, their back turned away. All Riku could take in was a flash of silver hair before the vision was gone.

**_…I promise you…Riku…that I will not take such liberties again…_ **

The dark magic was visible, black tendrils twisting in the air around both the spot in front of the armchair and Riku. The tendrils curled toward Riku, and he felt as if he’d been dunked into an icy pool of water. Something settled over his heart, heavy for only a moment, before abating.

“What did you do?” Riku demanded as he held his free hand over his heart.

_…I added another pact to our agreement…I will be unable to help you so directly again…unless you allow me to…_

Fear churned in his gut, though there was a sense of relief, as well. He knew in his heart that what the voice was saying was true. He wouldn’t have to worry about being _possessed_ again.

“What agreement? I never made any agreements with you. You just showed up and told me I couldn’t summon the key anymore!” Riku felt exhausted, and leaned against the bed, his eyes still glued to the empty armchair.

_...You still do not remember…_

“No, I don’t! And would you tell me who you are, already?”

_…I cannot…_

“Why not?” Riku asked in exasperation.

_…When I try to seek out a name…many come to the surface…I do not know which is right…for they all feel correct…_

“Can’t you just pick one?” Riku’s mind began shifting through the implications of this. Was whatever he was talking to actually more than one person? Did this entity want to add his name to the list?

Silence filled the room, but the presence still lingered.

Riku sighed. “Can you at least tell me about this agreement? You sound confused, so are sure you’re not mistaking me for someone else?”

_…Terra…_

“What?”

_…The name you may call me by…_

“Terra, huh?” The presence flared up, and Riku felt as if it had filled the entire room before it condensed again by the armchair. “So, are you sure you have the right person?”

_…Yes…it is one of my most vivid memories…_

“Then why don’t I remember?”

_…You were younger than you are now…_

“How young are we talking about here?”

_…I was once a keyblade master…I traveled to your world and met you by happenstance…you were filled with great potential…_

Terra continued on as if Riku hadn’t said anything.

_...We made a pact over my keyblade….you became my apprentice…_

“You’re telling me that I met some random stranger and agreed to become his apprentice. That’s ridiculous! I had to be, what, five years old?” Riku put his good hand over his eyes to ward off his building headache. “Why did you think that was good idea?”

_…My master did the same for me…and his master before him…._

“That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard,” Riku deadpanned. “Can we undo this? If we beak the agreement I’ll be able to summon the key again, right?”

_…No…_

“What do you mean, ‘No’?” Riku stood up straight again, his good hand clenched into a fist. “You have no right to force me to keep some stupid agreement I made when I was a kid!"

_…The bond we have forged cannot be broken…not even death can sever it…our destinies are forever intertwined…_

Riku turned towards the door. “Let me out!” he demanded. He wasn’t going to listen to another word of this.

The wards flashed before disappearing, and Riku stormed through the door, knocking it satisfyingly against the stone. He passed easily through the barrier that still rested at the threshold of the study, and was practically running through the corridors, his anger fueling him.

He couldn’t believe how unfair this all was. As far as he was concerned, he didn’t owe that Terra bastard a thing.

His mad sprint through the castle was cut short by a portal opening right in his path. He had to skid to a stop to keep from slamming into Maleficent as she stepped out of it. Riku panted as he stared up at her unreadable expression, his arm now throbbing in time with his heartbeat. He belatedly realized how sore and cold his feet were. Running with a broken arm and without any shoes on may not have been the best idea.

Maleficent looked him over, taking in his dirty clothes and noting his arm hanging uselessly in a sling. The usual distaste for his appearance was noticeably absent; as her expression remained completely blank.

“Pray tell,” she began, her voice the softest Riku had ever heard it, “how you survived being swallowed by the darkest a second time?”

“Did Hook tell you that he left me behind?” Riku snarled, completely ignoring her question. “That he left me for dead? Even after I delivered the princess!”

Maleficent raised a single, thin eyebrow. “He told the story with a rather different twist.”

“Well, he lied,” Riku ground out between his clenched teeth.

Maleficent stared at Riku impassively, her eyes steadily looking into his own. Riku felt a strange pressure in his mind before he felt a surge of dark magic rise up around him. The pressure disappeared, and the magic dissipated. Maleficent’s eyes widened before they began to look him over again with renewed interest. Riku wasn’t sure what Maleficent had tried to do to him, but he was sure that he hadn’t been the one to stop it. He was filled with dread as he realized that he had no idea what else Terra could do.

“You said that your world was destroyed by darkness, but you did not say how that came to be,” Maleficent continued on as if nothing had happened.

“I don’t know.” Riku tried to shrug, but winced as the motion sent a shot of pain through his arm. “The woodland world got swallowed by darkness all of the sudden, and the same thing happened to my home world,” he lied, keeping his gaze steady with Maleficent’s.

“I think not.” Maleficent began to walk around him, and Riku turned himself to keep her in his line of sight, his shoulders set into a stiff line. “You destroyed your world, didn’t you? You used the power of the darkness to consume it.”

“No, I didn’t.” Riku’s voice was steady, and his angry expression hadn’t changed.

“Why did you do it? For power? Revenge?” She moved towards Riku until she was so close that he had to crane his neck upwards in order to keep looking her in the eye. Riku forced himself not to shudder in disgust. “Or was it for adventure?”

The guilt that had nagged Riku yesterday morning came back with a vengeance. He pulled his gaze away from Maleficent to try and hide what he felt, but he feared that she had already seen it. The islands that he had grown up on, and all of the people that he had known his entire life, were gone because he had wanted to go on an adventure.

“When you arrived here, I assumed that you were yet another lost fool that, by some miraculous event, had escaped the destruction of their home world. You certainly wouldn’t have been the first to land amongst the rising falls.” Maleficent moved away from him and began to circle him again, but this time Riku did not keep her in his sight. “I see now that you are much more than you appear to be. I think that you and I will be able to do great things, Riku.”

“Is that what you told all of those weirdoes you work with?” Riku still kept his gaze drawn to the floor. He couldn’t trust himself not to reveal how unnerved he was by Maleficent’s perceptiveness.

“Those shortsighted fools? They use the darkness as a tool to grant them instant gratification, and barely have the ability to look beyond their own noses. They are useful for now, but they will eventually lose themselves to the dark. Of this, I have no doubt.”

“How about I tell them all what you think of them?” Riku finally raised his eyes from the ground.

Maleficent titled her head back and laughed. It was a cold and sharp cackle that Riku never wanted to hear again. “Do you think they do not _know_? Each and every one of them believes they will outsmart the other and defeat me, but it is a vivid fantasy, nothing more.” She tapped her staff against the ground and magic surged around Riku. His ripped and dirty clothes restored themselves and a pair of black boots appeared on his feet.

“Come now,” Maleficent said as she began to walk down the corridor. “You must be famished after such a strenuous outing. I am pleased by your good fortune in getting the princess out of her world before it collapsed. It would have been a great loss if she had been allowed to be consumed by the dark.”

Riku took up pace beside her, still reeling from their conversation. “What about Hook?”

Maleficent chuckled. “Do you wish him to be punished?”

“Yes,” Riku glared up at her and answered without hesitation. The desire to stab the man was just as strong as it had been the day before.

“So it shall be. Though, we cannot dispose of him. He still has his uses, after all.”

“Fine.” Riku could recognize that the route they were on would lead them to the dining hall. He tried not to think too hard about the fact that these memories were Terra’s and not his own. “I know how to use portals now, anyway, so I shouldn’t have to deal with him again.” Riku thought he could figure out how to use dark portals on his own. Terra had opened a portal to get him back here, and it hadn’t appeared to be too difficult.

“Oh? Such quick progress.” Maleficent’s tone was wry, and Riku bristled at the condescension. “It will take some time before I find another likely candidate for you to retrieve, so you will have plenty of time to learn both of magic and the darkness.”

“Plenty of time for you to teach me, you mean.” Riku shot her a sharp look, but Maleficent simply smirked at him in response.

The archway to the dining hall loomed before them. The table within was just as imposing as it had been the day before. Food was already laid out on the far end of the table, and a chair was pushed out invitingly. The rich smell filling the room made Riku’s stomach grumble.

Maleficent stopped in the great doorway, her own height dwarfed under the stone arch.

“After you eat, there is something I wish to show you.” Her tone left no room for argument. With a flick of her wrist a portal opened beside her, and she walked through without a backwards glance at Riku.

He allowed his rigid posture to slump with her departure. He just needed to learn how to use dark portals, and he could leave. He could try and find Sora and Kairi. Maybe he could even try and get back the key.

5

The silence of the library was tense, and a feeling of anxious anticipation filled the air. A pile of books sat at Riku’s table on the balcony, and they were so precariously stacked that a strong breeze could have blown them over. Riku was hunched over two open books, doing his best to try and figure out how to use dark portals to travel. He was quickly learning that it was not nearly as simple as he had first assumed.

Portals only applied to in-world travel. If Riku wanted to move from one end of the castle to another, he could use a portal. Besides the right application of magical energy, all he needed to summon and use one was to have a destination in mind. He had to picture where he was going to go in vivid detail, and he would arrive there. The problem with this was that he couldn’t go somewhere he had never been before.

In order to travel off world, Riku would have to use a Dark Corridor that opened a safe path through the Real of Darkness to his destination. Using corridors was much more dangerous and difficult than a simple portal, and was more than Riku could currently hope to achieve. He’d have to be able to maneuver magical energy through the Realm of Darkness and plant his portal approximately where he was trying to go. According to the text he was reading, it could take decades before someone could travel in such a way with both safety and accuracy.

Riku wasn’t even sure what the “Realm of Darkness” was beyond being a collection of all dark energy in existence. It didn’t sound like somewhere he particularly wanted to travel through; though he was sure he had done it already. That endless dark expanse that Terra had guided him through to get back to the castle fit the description the book gave of the experience perfectly. The book had cautioned that once someone entered the Realm of Darkness, there was a chance that it could be incredibly difficult to leave, even with a corridor open.

He thumped his head against the open book. This wasn’t getting him anywhere. How was he going to get off this world and away from all of this by tonight?

“My, what a hardworking student I have,” Maleficent’s drawl cut through Riku’s slump.

He glanced up to see her standing at the edge of the table. Riku bit down the urge to sign. He had been hoping he would have been able to leave by now.

“I believe I said there was something I wished to show you.” Maleficent was looking at Riku like he was a particularly annoying bug.

“You weren’t around when I finished eating.” Riku stood up from the table, closing the books in front of him. He was in the witch’s good graces for now, and he had to keep himself that way until he was able to leave.

“Did you not say that you were proficient in the use of dark corridors?” Maleficent eyed the books lying on the table pointedly.

Riku noticed her wording and wanted to kick himself. He had said he knew how to use portals earlier, but then had implied that a portal could get him off world. Maleficent had obviously noticed his mistake.

“I only figured out how to travel with corridors by instinct so I wanted to read up on them,” Riku replied smoothly.

“Our destination is close to the chapel. Now, you would be so kind as to demonstrate your new found abilities and take us there?” Maleficent raised her free hand, her sharp red nails glinting intimidatingly in the light of the library.

Riku kept his face impassive, even as his stomach churned. Maleficent was perceptive enough to see he was hiding something, and was trying to get him to tell the truth. He definitely wasn’t going to tell her about Terra. He might not be happy with the spirit right now, but Terra was his trump card against Maleficent.

With a flourish, Riku raised his uninjured arm. He remembered what the book had said, and tried to picture the chapel in his mind. He found that the strongest image he had of it was the heart symbol that had stood out on the wall. He focused on the sharp black thorns that wrapped around the heart as he gathered magical energy from both himself and the world. He could remember Terra’s words about a cold, detached fury, but Riku still wasn’t sure what that meant. He drew on his raw anger, instead. This time he wasn’t angry with anyone but himself. A potent rage grew in him, and Riku felt magic pour in from the third source, which he was now certain was the Realm of Darkness.

A crack rang out just as Riku thought to himself that what he’d done was unforgivable. He fell to his knees as a steady whirring noise filled the library. He opened his eyes as he took gasping breaths and stared at the dark portal calmly swirling in front of him.

“Such effort for a single portal. I suppose we are rather fortunate you returned here without losing your heart,” was Maleficent’s cold evaluation.

Riku scowled up at her. “I’m just tired from yesterday.” He got to his feet with some effort and walked through the portal. He didn’t care if it led him to the wrong place. At least then he wouldn’t have to deal with Maleficent.

In a single step he had passed through the portal, and Riku found himself walking into the chapel. The portal had opened right in front of the wall where the metal-worked heart rested. He put his free hand on the wall to steady himself. His heart was still aching fiercely, and he couldn’t steady his breathing.

_…Riku…_

He could sense Terra in the chapel, though Riku couldn’t pin down where he was exactly.

“Not now,” he said sharply, just as Maleficent stepped out from the portal. Riku let go of the magic he’d gathered and immediately felt a strain lift from his heart.

_…You must not hurt yourself so…I cannot allow you to lose your heart…_

Riku pointedly ignored Terra, as starting a conversation with him when Maleficent was standing right next to him was completely stupid.

“Are you quite well enough to continue?” Maleficent sounded as if she hardly cared if he was or not.

“Lead the way.” Riku forced himself to breath steadily though his nose, though at least the stabbing pain in his heart was gone. It had been replaced by the throbbing in his arm, but at least that was manageable.

Maleficent tapped her staff on the ground again, and Riku felt magic gather along the far wall. There was a flash of light before the wall disappeared to reveal a set of stairs leading upwards into a pitch-black corridor. Maleficent began to climb the stairs, her staff glowing a sickly green to light their way. Riku could sense Terra following behind him. It was disconcerting to feel as if someone was walking right behind him, and he had to bite down the urge to tell Terra to back off.

A small door with the same heart symbol from the chapel engraved into it sat at the top of the stairs. Maleficent set her hand upon it and it glowed with the same brilliance as the wall had before it swung open with an ominous creak.

“Behold,” Maleficent stepped through the door and motioned to the room with her staff.

The room was round; with a ceiling so high that Riku could not make out the top in the darkness. The only light in the room was from Maleficent’s staff and seven glass chambers entrenched into the wall. Three of the chambers were occupied, and Riku felt bile rise into the back of his throat as he saw Snow lying in one of them, her skin a disturbing shade in the light.

“What is this?” Riku heard himself ask, though his voice sounded alien to his own ears.

“These are the princesses I have gathered, and with your aid, my collection will only grow. Once we have all of them in our grasp, the path to true power will be opened,” excitement colored Maleficent’s tone as she spoke.

Riku’s disgust only grew. “They aren’t dead, are they?”

Maleficent laughed. “No, you foolish boy. They are only sleeping. They shall do so until I have need of them.” She walked towards the occupied chambers. “Do not tell me you have pity for these wretched girls? They are nothing more than stepping stones to us.”

“Of course not,” Riku lied. “I was just surprised you’re not keeping them in the dungeons.”

“Oh?” Maleficent looked at Riku over her shoulder. “That would be far better than they deserve.” She paced in front of the three sleeping girls, and Riku could sense her vicious glee at the sight of them.

Riku couldn’t take one more second of this. He turned to leave, and just as he reached the door, Maleficent’s drawl stopped him.

“I shall be preoccupied tomorrow, but I shall leave some reading out for you, so that you may not complain about my poor teaching habits.”

“Alright,” Riku ground out before he practically fled down the stairs.

He could feel Terra following him, and as he bust out of the doors to the chapel, he pleaded, “Terra, I-I can’t stay here.”

_…I understand…_

Terra’s voice was a soft whisper.

_…I cannot open a corridor without your direct consent…_

Riku tensed up, but he still nodded. His good arm rose on its own, and dark energy sliced through the space in front of him. He stepped into the corridor without looking back.


	6. A Cold, Detached Fury

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your comments and kudos!  
> Big thanks to my betas, ChaosxPaladin and Gryphon97.

The first steps Riku took out of the corridor were met with the nostalgic sound of sand being crushed beneath his feet. An achingly familiar beach stretched out before him, and the gentle sound of waves lapping at the shore brought the prick of tears to his eyes. Riku forced himself to remain outwardly calm, even as hope and relief filled him.

“How is this possible?”

_…This is all that remains…_

Riku spun around to face Terra, his hope starting to dwindle. “What’s that supposed to mean? This is the island I played on almost every day of my life! This means my world wasn’t swallowed by darkness!”

_…I am sorry…_

Riku forced himself to really _look_ at what he was seeing. The beach was as he remembered it, but everything that should have surrounded it was gone. It was like he was standing in a brilliant painting that was framed in pitch black.

Tears pricked at his eyes again, and Riku pointedly ignored how his vision swam. “Is this even real?”

_…Yes…this is a remnant of your world…it lies in a place that is neither in the light nor dark…and so it will remain forever…_

“I did this.” Riku found himself on his knees in the sand, though he couldn’t remember collapsing. “This is all my fault.”

Terra remained silent, and Riku found that silence worse than if Terra had spewed accusations at him. Guilt swelled in his chest, and he couldn’t seem to get enough air. Riku desperately looked out to where the crystal blue sea should have met the cloudless turquois of the sky, but all he saw was a writhing mass of black and purple. He finally took a breath that completely filled his lungs, and breathed out slowly. Anger rose up in him, and he wiped the tears from his eyes with his good hand.

“Why the hell did you bring me here?”

_…I brought you to the place your heart wished to go…_

Riku sighed. His anger quickly faded, only to be replaced by exhaustion. “I wanted to go home, but this isn’t it.” He shakily got to his feet, pushing his emotions away. “We need to go somewhere else.”

_…That is something I must discuss with you…_

Terra moved out from behind Riku, his presence shifting to where the waves lazily lapped against the beach.

“I don’t care where.” Riku almost crossed his arms, but flinched when he was painfully reminded of his broken arm. “As long as it’s not here or back at the castle.”

_…You do not understand…I cannot go to any other worlds…_

“What does it matter if you can’t go with me?” Riku scoffed, “I can take care of myself, and I don’t have any interest in being your _apprentice_.”

_…You would not be able to traverse a dark corridor without my guidance…if you attempted to travel through one alone…you would assuredly be lost to the dark…_

Riku scowled. It had been difficult to walk through the corridor to get here, since the call of the dark around him had been almost overwhelming at times. He hated to admit it, but Terra was right.

“So, you’re saying that I’m stuck at that damn castle until I’m strong enough to travel on my own.” Riku shook his head. “I’m not getting any more princesses for that crazy hag. Snow was one too many.”

_...I am bound to Hollow Bastion…but there is a way to change that…one that I could not attempt alone..._

“Hollow Bastion?”

_...The world you have been living on these past few days…_

Terra’s echoing tone became wry, and Riku flushed in embarrassment.

“If you’re bound there then how are you even here with me? And how did you get to that world with all those keys?”

_…This place is In-Between…I can easily project myself here…often I pursue remnants of the worlds that lie here…as for the Keyblade Graveyard…it is where I lost and gained everything…where my Hate remains ever vigilant…_

“Can we go to the graveyard, then? It might not be the most comfortable world, but it’s better than having a cackling hag constantly getting into my business.” Riku noticed how the dark that surround them was started to twist and bulge. He felt shivers run down his spine as yellow and red eyes began to peek out at him.

_…My Hate would simply attack you…it took much of my energy to save you the time before…_

A pair of glowing yellow eyes that looked like twin suns rising on the horizon appeared, and the sand shook beneath Riku.

_…The Heartless…_

Terra said just as Riku yelled, “I think it’s time to leave!”

Black creatures that looked like emaciated humans were crawling out of the darkness and stepping onto the beach. The ground shook again.

_…Riku…_

“Just open a corridor already!” Riku had already raised his arm, and Terra’s magic tore open a portal as soon as he finished his sentence.

Riku ran through the corridor, his fear driving him forward. Terra nudged him in the right direction when he began to stray, and in no time at all, Riku came tumbling out of the other side. He landed in a heap on the fur rug of Terra’s room, gasping from his fear-induced sprint. 

_…I had forgotten how ravenous they could be…and without a keyblade to protect yourself…_

“How could you forget something like that?” Riku demanded from where he was sitting on the rug.

_…The Heartless have little interest in me in my current state…_

Riku sighed and rearranged himself on the floor so that he could rest his head against the side of the bed. He could sense Terra moving around the room, as if he was pacing.

“So, I’m stuck here, since the only places I can go either have Heartless, or a sentient suit of armor that wants to kill me.” He bumped his head against the side of the mattress. “I guess this is what I deserve, huh?”

_…Wallowing in self-pity is ill-advised…_

Terra’s presence stopped moving, and hovered in front of Riku instead.

_…Remember that there is a way around this…I only require your assistance…_

Riku narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “You need my help? This better not involve you hijacking my body.”

_…It does not…_

Terra sounded offended, and his presence flared for a moment before condensing into one spot again.

_…I became anchored to this world when the darkness was first unleashed…there is a way to move this anchor…the ritual requires someone who is corporeal…_

“I’m not sacrificing anyone on an altar. I’d rather test my luck with the hag,” Riku deadpanned.

_…There is no sacrifice required…_

Riku smirked at how exasperated Terra sounded. It was nice not being the one thrown for a loop for a change. “Tell me about the details of this ‘ritual,’ and then I’ll decide if I’ll help you.”

The door to the study creaked as it slowly opened. Riku felt Terra leave the bedroom, and he got up on unsteady legs to follow him. The bookshelf in the study rattled.

“If you start making things float, I’m out of here,” Riku said dryly as he grabbed one of the titles that flashed across his mind.

He sat on the armchair, but didn’t start reading. The image of the beach still sat at the forefront of his mind, and Riku closed his eyes, least he start crying like some little kid _again._

_…I apologize…_

Terra spoke up from where he hovered by the bookshelf.

_…I should not have allowed you to see such a thing until you were prepared…_

Riku let out a short and humorless laugh to try and stave off any more tears. “I don’t think I ever would have been ready to see that.”

They lapsed into silence. Terra stayed by the bookshelf for some time before Riku felt him begin to move away, passing out of the room.

“Have you ever done something so unforgivable?” Riku mumbled.

_…My memoires are scarce and scattered…and yet what I can remember…is far worse than anything you have done…_

Terra said nothing more before his presence vanished from Riku’s senses, and he found himself well and truly alone.

6

Hours later, after Riku had calmed down, read about ten chapters in multiple books on binding someone’s soul to an inanimate object, and drunk a bright green potion from Terra’s personal stock that was supposed to help his arm heal, Riku had come to a decision.

The ritual to bind a spirit to an object was a long and delicate one, but Riku was certain he could do it. Terra had been telling the truth when he said that Riku wouldn’t have to sacrifice anyone. It just required some blood from the caster and an incredible attention to detail when drawing out the diagram needed to channel the magic. His only concern was the sheer amount of dark energy needed to unbind and rebind a soul. If he could barely keep standing after summoning flames or using a portal, how was he going to channel such a sheer amount of power without losing his heart?

Evening had fallen, and Riku was sitting in the library, eating some chicken that he had stolen away from the dining room. He had been fortunate enough to avoid Maleficent, though the sense of growing anxiety that she would find him and demand he go and fetch another princess remained at the back of his mind. Hopefully, she would be true to her word, and not be around at all tomorrow.

Terra slowly drifted into the upper floor of the library, and Riku greeted him with, “Before we leave, I’m going to save Snow, and the other two.”

Terra’s presence flickered, moving from the upper floor to the lower level, where Riku lounged on a couch.

_…You’re going to do_ what _?..._

Riku calmly chewed another bite of chicken before continuing, “It’s my responsibility. I was the one who kidnapped Snow, and I helped the witch who captured the other two princesses. I need to get them out of those chambers, and back to their home worlds. If they’re still around.”

_…How do you propose accomplishing that?...Maleficent is far more powerful than you…she will not suffer you leaving with what she has strived for decades to obtain…_

“You’re more upset about me trying to help those girls than you were about me kidnapping Snow,” Riku coldly pointed out.

_…You were not in much danger when you pursued the princess…but fighting with Maleficent in your current state…_

“Why can’t you help me? She can’t be stronger than you are.”

_…In order to defeat that witch…I would have to take complete control of your body…which is not a viable option…_

“I could just sneak in there; grab the three of them, and teleport into your study. Maleficent can’t get in there, so we’d all be safe,” Riku reasoned, still eating his dinner. “I don’t have to fight her.”

Riku heard a vague echo of a sigh, and Terra’s presence stopped flittering around in front of him.

_…At least perform the ritual so that we may freely leave…and allow me to teach you to correctly wield the darkness…before you attempt to_ rescue _anyone…_

“You know I never actually agreed to help you,” was Riku’s snide reply. “The amount of dark energy needed to unbind you alone is ridiculous.”

_…If you learn to properly channel dark energy…the ritual will not harm you…_

Riku took another bite of chicken, pretending to think Terra’s words over as he chewed, even though he’d already made his decision.

“Alright, I’ll help you. And in return you’ll help me free the princesses.”

_…That is agreeable enough…_

6

In the next few days, Riku studied harder than he ever had in his life. Even though he was anxious to get his plan moving, there was a part of him that enjoyed learning so much about magic. Maleficent was true to her word. She had left out a small pile of books that detailed the use of lightning and gravity spells in combat, and creating barriers. She’d even included a thin book on the merits of levitating objects.

He was frustrated to find that trying to cast elemental magic without using the darkness was just as difficult as it had been when he was attempting to manifest flames. He’s managed to get a few sparks of pure elemental lightning to appear, but nothing else. Barriers were also a challenge. They normally were just concentrated magical energy, but Riku couldn’t summon a barrier without dark magic seeping into it. At least levitating objects wasn’t too difficult. He had been having a blast sending different items in Terra’s study floating back and forth around the room.

As for using the darkness, Riku had been disappointed to find that “a cold, detached fury” was something that he had to discover for himself. He had spent hours over the last few days trying to use the technique to summon black flames without experiencing shooting pain in his heart, with little progress. He’d also been drinking potions a few times a day. His arm was out of the sling and only a little sore. He was almost ready to leave. He just needed to figure out how to do this.

Riku was currently sitting in a large circular room with mirror-lined walls. He was drawing out the most difficult portion of the diagram needed for the ritual with a steady hand. In a few short strokes, the diagram would be complete.

Terra’s presence had been drifting in and out of the room all morning. He would occasionally check over Riku’s work to make sure it was correct. Riku had bristled at the implication that he wouldn’t do a good job, but Terra had calmly explained that if the diagram was incorrect, more harm would come to Riku than to Terra.

Just as Riku drew back his brush after the final stroke, Terra entered the room. His presence was fluctuating between being compressed into a tight ball, to almost filling the entire room.

“Whoa, what’s the matter?”

_…I was looking in on a meeting between the witch and her vile cohorts…the villains have located another princess…_

“No way!” Riku stood up from where he’d been kneeling on the ground. “I thought we still had time!”

_…The witch will soon come for you…you must vacate this room…_

Riku glanced down at the diagram that covered almost the entire floor and headed for the door without another word. There wouldn’t be any lie he could tell to cover for himself if Maleficent saw _that_.

“What are we going to do?” Riku asked as he stepped into the hallway.

_…You may have to cooperate for now…we cannot safely leave…_

“I’m not kidnapping anyone else! I’ve already—“

A portal opened not far from where Riku stood, effectively cutting off the conversation. Maleficent stepped out of it. Riku hadn’t seen her for days, but he hadn’t missed her in the least. That terrible crow of hers was sitting on her shoulder, and it let out a caw when it saw Riku.

“There you are. You’ve been quite busy these past few days,” she murmured, her eyes assessing Riku sharply.

He was filled with an irrational fear that she knew about the diagram and his plan to take back the princesses, but he kept his eyes level and steady on her face.

“There’s a lot of magic I need to learn.”

“I certainly hope you’ve made progress,” Maleficent said blandly, “I have found another princess, and now it is time for you to do your part.”

Maleficent opened another portal with a tap of her staff. “Come,” she commanded before stepping through.

Riku reluctantly followed, Terra close behind him. Within the Council Chamber Maleficent’s terrifying allies were all gathered around, sans Hook. Riku had no idea what Maleficent had done to him as punishment, but he was glad to not have to see the pirate again.

“—and what exactly are you implying?” the woman with tentacles instead of legs was snarling.

“Enough!” Maleficent cut into the argument and silence fell instantly. “We have more important matters to attend to.”

An image appeared in the green circle of light at the center of the room, and Riku’s heart stopped when he laid eyes on Kairi’s smiling face.

She laughed, covering her mouth with her hand, before the green image looped back again.

The group around him was speaking, but Riku only had eyes for his friend. Kairi was safe and happy somewhere. She hadn’t been lost with his world.

“The boy didn’t hit his empty head on the way here, did he?” a tall man in black robes sneered, finally knocking Riku out of his happy daze. He felt his heart begin pounding as the reality of the situation sunk in. Maleficent was after _Kairi._

“I will go and get her,” Riku said evenly, “Just tell me where she is.”

“She is in a world called Traverse Town.” A map appeared in the green light, showing a collection of glowing stars, each labeled with a name.

Hollow Bastion stood on the far left end, and a blinking point labeled “Traverse Town” rested to the far right.

“This short distance will be no challenge for you, I am sure,” Maleficent drawled, smirking at him.

Riku knew that she still suspected that he had lied about being able to use corridors. “Of course. I’ll be back in no time.”

He turned and left the room, even as the arguing amongst the group started back up again. He walked a few corridors down and turned the corner before leaning up against the wall and laughing.

_…Riku…_

Terra hovered just in front of Riku, his presence just as agitated as earlier.

_...We must complete the ritual if we are to leave…_

Riku only laughed harder. A force knocked into his chest, strong enough to knock the air out of him. He bumped into the wall, his head smacking against it. Riku’s laughter abruptly cut off.

**_…You must get a hold of yourself…_ **

Terra’s presence seemed to fill the entire hallway. For the first time since Terra had possessed Riku at the graveyard, Riku found himself genuinely afraid of the spirit.

“You don’t understand!” Riku covered up his fear with anger. “That was Kairi! She’s one of my friends from the Islands! I need to go and protect her from Maleficent!”

_…Pray tell…how will you accomplish this if you cannot travel off world?..._

“You can open the corridor, and I’ll just go! I don’t have time to figure anything out!”

_…You will lose your way in the dark…I will not allow this…_

“I don’t need your permission to do anything!” Riku turned away and stormed down the hallway.

Terra’s crackling presence swerved in front of him.

_…Proceeding without a plan will be your downfall…if something dear to you is at stake…it is all the more reason to think and plan before acting…_

 “I won’t let Kairi—“

**_…How do you think I came to be in my current state?…by charging forward without a single intelligent thought in my head…_ **

A flash of a pretty woman with blue hair popped into Riku’s mind. The image shifted to show her being strangled, and the hand clamped around her throat was Riku’s own. It shifted again, and the woman was replaced by Kairi, gasping and crying.

“No!”

Riku came out of the vision to find himself on his hands and knees in the hallway. “I would never do that!”

_…If you go into the dark unprepared…only horrors await you…_

Terra’s presence no longer filled the hallway, and instead it was concentrated to Riku’s right. Riku looked up and saw a man wearing formal clothing, but it was gone in a blink of an eye.

“What am I supposed to do? Maleficent,” he looked over his shoulder, expecting the witch to appear, but the hallway remained empty. “She knows that I’m lying. If she figures out what we’re planning, I won’t be able to get to Kairi!”

_…I will help you…_

A hand hovered not far from Riku’s face. It was offering him help to stand up. He slowly reached for it. Instead of passing through, his own hand was met with a firm grip, and Riku was pulled to his feet. Once he had found his footing, the grip disappeared, leaving Riku with his hand hanging limply in the air. Terra’s presence was calm, and Riku felt his earlier fear begin to abate.

“You told me that I had to figure out how to feel ‘a cold detached fury’ on my own.”

_…I have grown ever stronger these past few days…I can show you…if you would allow me to…_

Riku nodded, and the image of the hallway bled away to be replaced by a dark cavern. A man wearing an eyepatch over his right eye shot a crossbow bolt towards Riku, just as a hulking man with sideburns charged at him with a javelin in hand. Riku felt rage simmering under his skin, but it was tempered and controlled. Dark magic coursed through him as a purple barrier blocked the crossbow bolt and black lightning arced through the air and struck the man with the javelin.

The hallway swam back into focus. Riku gaped at the purple barrier that quietly hummed next to him and at the scorch mark along the wall. He could feel the same restrained anger coursing through him as he fed energy into the barrier, along with a sense of calm familiarity. It was eerily similar to what he’d felt when he’d raised the key to open the door in the Secret Place. His heart wasn’t giving a single twinge in protest. The barrier fizzled out as he cut off its energy supply.

“I see now,” he said as he channeled the energy needed to summon flames. The black flames that had left him gasping for breath a week earlier now sat innocuously in his hand. “I’m ready.”


End file.
